Conventionally, a three-dimensional integrated circuit composed of a laminate of a plurality of semiconductor-chip layers packed in one package is known.
In the three-dimensional integrated circuit, the layered semiconductor chips are connected with each other by bumps such as microbumps (see, for example, Non-Patent Literature 1).
Meanwhile, connecting the layered semiconductor chips requires an advanced minute processing technique, and an occurrence of a certain degree of defective contacts is unavoidable.
When one or more defective contacts occur in the connection between semiconductor chips in the three-dimensional integrated circuit, a failure may occur due to the presence of the defective contacts.
Patent Literature 1, for example, discloses a technology among known conventional technologies which, even if one or more defective contacts occur in the connection between semiconductor chips and a failure might occur due to the presence of the defective contacts, prevent the failure from occurring with high probability.
According to this technology, when one or more defective contacts occur in the connection between semiconductor chips, data transfer rate of a terminal, in which no defective contact has occurred, is increased so that the terminal transmits data that should have been transmitted by a terminal in which one or more defective contacts have occurred.